Health Industry Groups Express Concern About Meaningful Use Stage 3

Several health care industry groups have submitted comments to the Office of  the National Coordinator for Health IT, expressing concern about the  proposed requirements and timeline for Stage 3 of the meaningful use  program, Healthcare IT News reports (Miliard, Healthcare IT  News, 1/14).

Background

Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who  demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems can  qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.

In November 2012, the Health IT Policy Committee asked for public comment about its proposal for Stage 3 of  the meaningful use program. The final rules for Stage 3 are expected to take  effect in 2016 (iHealthBeat,  11/9/12).

American Hospital Association’s Letter

On Monday, the American Hospital Association submitted a letter to ONC stating that it is too soon to  define the requirements for Stage 3.

AHA wrote that hospitals have not had enough experience with Stage 2 rules  and that no products to support Stage 2 currently are available.

AHA recommended that:

• HHS provide funding for a comprehensive external evaluation of the  meaningful use program; and
• The Policy Committee refrain from finalizing Stage 3 recommendations until  it has reviewed the external evaluation and developed a Stage 3 implementation  plan that addresses issues from Stage 1 of the program (Goedert, Health Data Management, 1/14).

College of Healthcare Information Management Executives’  Letter

Also on Monday, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives submitted a letter urging ONC to reconsider the timeline and  scale of Stage 3 of the meaningful use program.

CHIME recommended that ONC conduct extensive evaluations of what already has  been accomplished through the meaningful use program to determine whether the  proposed Stage 3 criteria are realistic and achievable by 2016  (Healthcare IT News, 1/14).

Federation of American Hospitals’ Letter

On Monday, the Federation of American Hospitals submitted a letter stating that ONC should evaluate current  meaningful use requirements before health care providers invest money in  preparing for Stage 3.

FAH wrote that it believes the current timeline of two years for each  meaningful use stage is a barrier to fully achieving the meaningful use  program’s goals of improving care quality, efficiency and safety (Millman et al,  “Pulse,” Politico, 1/15).

Source: iHealthBeat

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